Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Blaine County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Blaine County pays $2,080 a year, an effective rate of 1.34%, modestly above the U.S. average.
- $2,080
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.34%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +4%
- vs U.S. average
- #1 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Blaine County pay a median $2,080 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.34%, more affordable than 17% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,080
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.34%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2601 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +4%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($155,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Population: 6,949. Owner-occupied homes: 1,498.
The median annual property tax in Blaine County is $2,080, which is 23% lower than the Montana state average and 4% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.34% on a median home value of $155,500. Property taxes represent 3.2% of the median household income in this county.
Blaine County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Blaine County's 1.34% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 17%).
Decision signal 2
Low among Montana counties by effective rate
Blaine County ranks #1 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (98% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits below the Montana median
Homeowners in Blaine County pay a median annual property tax of $2,080, modestly above the national median and notably lower than the Montana state median. On a $155,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.34% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has climbed 9.4%, from $1,901 to $2,080. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Blaine County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.2% of the $64,813 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Blaine County as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 36% from $1,532 to $2,080. These ACS medians describe the reported change; they do not identify whether a levy, assessment, home value, or change in the responding households caused it.
The largest single group of owner-occupied homes in this county reports no real estate tax at all: 516 of 1,498 homes (34.4%). When that group leads, the county median does not describe the most common reported amount.
A top-quartile rate meets below-median earnings here, and the median bill reaches 3.2% of median household income. A rate ranking places this county by the rate alone; the ratio above is the figure that accounts for what is earned here.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
Blaine County is an outlier inside Montana
Across the 56 Montana counties with a published rate, the average effective rate is 0.73%. Blaine County is at 1.34%, which sits 2.7 standard deviations above that average. Fewer than one county in twenty nationally is this far from its own state's centre, so a state-level average is a poor guide to what is owed here.
Standard deviations are computed across every county in the state with a published effective rate for 2024; states with fewer than five such counties are not assessed.
What Blaine County Homeowners Actually Pay
Most Blaine County homeowners are not billed at all: 516 of 1,498 owner-occupied homes (34.4%) report no real estate tax. A median bill describes only the minority who pay one.
- Less than $800 5.0% (75)
- $800 to $1,499 10.9% (163)
- $1,500 to $1,999 15.5% (232)
- $2,000 to $2,999 17.6% (263)
- $3,000 or more 16.6% (249)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
516 homes here (34.4%) report no real estate tax at all, an unusually large share, high enough that the median bill above describes a minority of Blaine County homeowners. Exemptions are set by state: how Montana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Blaine County, mortgaged homeowners pay 23% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Blaine County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Blaine County's effective rate is higher than 98% of the 56 counties in Montana - ranking #1 of 56.
Where Blaine County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.34% more affordable than 17% of 3,135 U.S. counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more U.S. counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024
A high rate, a smaller bill
Blaine County taxes property at 1.34%, about 86% above the Montana average, yet its median bill of $2,080 lands roughly 23% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
Blaine County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Blaine County | Montana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.2% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
Blaine County's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Blaine County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $155,500 median home carries a $2,080 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $208 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Montana.
Blaine County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,080 +9.4% | 1.34% |
| 2023 | $1,901 +1.5% | 1.52% |
| 2022 | $1,872 +11.8% | 1.57% |
| 2021 | $1,674 +9.3% | 1.43% |
| 2020 | $1,532 | 1.69% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
Blaine County: tax-to-income at 3.2%
Counties near Blaine County's effective rate
On effective rate, Blaine County sits nearest Isabella County (MI), Iron County (MI), Wallace County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Fisher County (TX), Rock County (MN), Madison County (AL).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Blaine County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 50 of 2,650 returns from Blaine County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,160 - 60% of those reporters sat in the $25-50k AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Montana
Blaine County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Blaine County?
- Blaine County, Montana scores F (33/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is housing pressure at B+ (2.40×). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- What is the average property tax in Blaine County, Montana?
- The median annual property tax in Blaine County is $2,080, an effective rate of 1.34% on a $155,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Blaine County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Blaine County is recorded at $2,080 in the 2024 5-year release against $1,532 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 1,498 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- How does Blaine County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Blaine County run modestly above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.34% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Blaine County?
- Property taxes in Blaine County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.2% of the $64,813 median household income.
What to do with Blaine County's STEEP rate
Inside Montana, Blaine County's $2,080 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Montana overview →
Blaine County ranks #1 of 56 Montana counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Montana overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Blaine County's STEEP effective rate, then a disjoint out-of-state bill set so the two neighborhoods stay distinct.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 1.34%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,080/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Blaine County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Blaine County (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Nemaha County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Blaine County at $2,080/yr; rate 0.96% vs Blaine County 1.34%.
Sitka City and Borough, AK
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Blaine County at $2,080/yr; rate 0.46% vs Blaine County 1.34%.
Hill County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,078/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.16% vs Blaine County 1.34%.
Tioga County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,078/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.15% vs Blaine County 1.34%.
Montana county set
State ACS overview for every published Montana county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Blaine County stamps STEEP · MID - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Blaine County (STEEP · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.